Joe Rogan Experience #2242 - Bert Sorin
Bert Sorin (guest), Narrator, Joe Rogan (host), Guest (guest), Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Guest (guest), Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Bert Sorin and Narrator, Joe Rogan Experience #2242 - Bert Sorin explores strength, Hunting, and Human Limits: Joe Rogan Talks With Bert Sorin Joe Rogan and strength coach/equipment designer Bert Sorin range across training, hunting, combat sports, and broader questions about human performance and resilience. They open by discussing Sorin’s new rotational power machine, then dive into the evolution of strength training in sports, from old myths about weights to modern data-driven approaches.
Strength, Hunting, and Human Limits: Joe Rogan Talks With Bert Sorin
Joe Rogan and strength coach/equipment designer Bert Sorin range across training, hunting, combat sports, and broader questions about human performance and resilience. They open by discussing Sorin’s new rotational power machine, then dive into the evolution of strength training in sports, from old myths about weights to modern data-driven approaches.
The conversation moves into archery and hunting, covering heavy bows, gear, ethics of killing what you eat, and memorable experiences in Scotland, Alaska, and Africa. They also examine combat sports from catch wrestling to modern MMA and jiu-jitsu, emphasizing drilling, technique, and how strength amplifies skill.
Later, they talk about injury, recovery, and longevity—covering surgeries, stem cells, peptides, blood clots, and learning when to step back from trying to be “the GOAT.” Interwoven throughout are reflections on social media, free speech, mob mentality, and how COVID-era politics exposed deep problems in institutions and public courage.
Key Takeaways
Rotational power and core stability are critical for striking and throwing sports.
Sorin’s X-Factor machine is built to train push–pull rotational power with balance and core engagement, translating ground force through the body into punches, throws, and other explosive movements more effectively than traditional cable setups.
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Great technique plus great strength is exponentially more effective than either alone.
Whether in jiu-jitsu, boxing, or throwing, technically refined athletes who are also very strong (e. ...
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High-level skill comes from relentless drilling, not just “going hard.”
Rogan stresses that in jiu-jitsu the real gains come from high-rep, resisted drilling—building “tie-your-shoes” automaticity—rather than just sparring for fun; the same logic applies to quarterbacks who become great archers or wrestlers who become elite MMA fighters.
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Heavier, well-tuned archery setups dramatically increase lethality and margin for error.
Rogan argues that if you can safely and accurately pull 80–90 lb bows with appropriately stiff arrows and cut-on-contact broadheads, you get deeper penetration, more pass-throughs, and quicker kills—especially on big animals—despite critics who often can’t handle that draw weight themselves.
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Old-school strength cultures reveal both the power and cost of obsession.
Stories from Westside Barbell, strongman, and catch wrestling show how extreme training environments can produce freakish performance but also massive injuries, surgeries, and shortened careers, underscoring the need to know when to stop chasing “GOAT” status.
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Modern recovery tools can radically shorten healing time—if you’re willing to use them.
They discuss cadaver ligament grafts, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, stem cells, and peptides like BPC-157/TB-500; many traditional practitioners don’t stay current, but athletes who do (e. ...
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COVID and censorship revealed how fragile free speech and public courage really are.
Rogan argues that government pressure on social platforms, suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story, and orchestrated narratives around protests showed that institutions will sacrifice truth and rights to preserve power, and many people willingly complied out of fear or tribal loyalty.
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Notable Quotes
“There’s zero advantage in being weak. There’s never a time where you’re like, ‘If I could just get my squat down a bit, that would really pan out for me.’”
— Joe Rogan
“If you could teach a wrestler how to strike, they have such an advantage. They’re not worried about you taking them down; you’re worried about them taking you down.”
— Joe Rogan
“Do something that scares the shit out of you, do something that excites you, do something that’s difficult. That’s how you grow.”
— Joe Rogan
“Most of these people are broken, and they have some addictive thing. If they could channel it into something, that might be the next world champion.”
— Bert Sorin (on Louie Simmons’ approach to lifters at Westside Barbell)
“You could be the rabbit-hole guy and lose sight of life and still only be the number three guy ever.”
— Bert Sorin
Questions Answered in This Episode
How should combat sports balance testing for performance-enhancing drugs with the reality that enhanced, ultra-technical athletes are redefining what’s possible?
Joe Rogan and strength coach/equipment designer Bert Sorin range across training, hunting, combat sports, and broader questions about human performance and resilience. ...
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At what point does the pursuit of being “the best” become self-destructive, and how can athletes recognize when to step back without feeling like they’ve quit?
The conversation moves into archery and hunting, covering heavy bows, gear, ethics of killing what you eat, and memorable experiences in Scotland, Alaska, and Africa. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What would strength and conditioning look like if mainstream coaches fully embraced tools like peptides, stem cells, and true individualized programming?
Later, they talk about injury, recovery, and longevity—covering surgeries, stem cells, peptides, blood clots, and learning when to step back from trying to be “the GOAT. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How can hunters reconcile high-tech gear and ‘cheat codes’ like smart rangefinders with the desire for fair chase and deep connection to the hunt?
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Given what COVID-era censorship revealed, what practical safeguards should exist to prevent governments from covertly shaping online speech in the future?
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Transcript Preview
(drum beat plays) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.
The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night. All day. (rock music plays) Hello, Joe.
(laughs) Good to see you, Joe. What's up, brother? What's going on, man?
Good to see you, man.
Thank you very much for that, uh, extraordinary piece of, uh-
(laughs)
... athletic equipment you brought to the gym.
Absolutely, right?
Is there a photo of that so we can show people what it looks like?
Uh, yeah, it should be on the website, uh, X-Factor.
And what is it called?
Uh, it's called the X-Factor.
Oh, it's called the X-Factor.
Yeah, it's called the X-Factor.
What is the website?
Sorenix.com.
Go to Sorenix.com, check out the X-Factor.
It's all you, it's actually ... Pull it up, Jamie.
Pull it up, Jamie. Isn't it nice to say that?
Gosh, man, I'm telling you-
It's fun, right?
It's, uh, it's big.
So this is the machine.
Yeah. It's actually Judd who was here a minute ago.
Yeah. It's a- a brilliant machine, man. The idea that you could push and pull rotationar- r- rotational power machine.
(laughs)
It really is a- a genius idea, man. And, uh-
Thanks, bro.
... for things like striking sports, that's huge. Like, the ab- ability to push and pull at the same time while stabilizing your core. I mean, that is undoubtably gonna help w- people, like, i- i- it's ... You're definitely gonna be able to deliver more power and strikes.
Right. Because you- you take the ground force-
Mm-hmm.
... and then be able to put it through, obviously, with the core access-
Yeah.
... all three planes of motion, all we- obviously go through your core, and then puts it into your- either your feet or your, uh- or your arms. So-
It's just so unusual that you can do something like that. I mean, I guess you kinda can do something like that with cables-
Mm-hmm.
... with a cable machine, but that seems better.
Yeah, because you have a little bit of a balance component as well. But- but you're right, like, you're blocking ... Let's say you're a right-hander, you're blocking on that left leg-
Mm-hmm.
You're- you're stabilizing out the right hamstring and hip. But yeah, especially when you get that little extra extension, I call it the riblets right there, your obliques-
Mm-hmm.
... it just locks everything in. So I'm interested to see what you come up with.
It's pretty dope. And you were telling me that this was originally, uh, like you- you came up with this idea from an older machine that's not around no more?
Yeah. Yeah. So we've- we ... You know, I've been in this industry a long time and as well as you have, but it's kinda taken a remastered series where we're taking all, like, the cool stuff that was- could have been our designs, but could have been just old designs that are just, like, kinda lost to the ages.
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